One thing I love about emerging tech is seeing traditional institutions that once dismissed it come around years later.
During 2018, economists from Harvard concluded that Bitcoin would be more likely to be worth $100 each instead of $100,000. Now no one really knew what the price for BTC would be with 100% certainty, but the inherent value is greater than $100 as determined by most traders.
What happened?
Harvard investment disclosures now show they have added $116.7 million USD worth of IBIT ETF — the Bitcoin ETF by BlackRock — to their portfolio.
This is significant. Harvard manages one of the largest university endowments in the world. When institutions at that scale add exposure to Bitcoin, it signals a major shift in how the financial establishment views crypto assets.
Why does this matter?
Endowments and large funds adding Bitcoin ETF exposure is meaningful for a few reasons. First, it validates Bitcoin as an asset class worth holding alongside traditional investments like stocks, bonds, and real estate. Second, it's a diversification play — adding an asset with low correlation to traditional markets.
We're increasingly seeing funds and endowments add exposure to Bitcoin (and more) crypto assets as a starting point — and eventually moving toward holding crypto assets with a long-term investment outlook.